Bill, Ben and the Carpet
by DonaldDouglasandToby6
Summary: In this adaptation of the eighth season episode, Percy and the Magic Carpet, Bill and Ben are confused about a carpet that seems to be magic, but it really isn't.


It was a windy day on the Island of Sodor. Leaves were flying everywhere. The leaves sometimes got in the engines' faces, making it hard to see. But not Bill and Ben; they were shunting trucks at the China Clay Works for a train that Fergus would take to the Docks.

"Poor engines. There are trees everywhere except for here! We're so lucky!" said Ben cheekily.

"Trees would never get in our way!" added Bill just as the manager walked up.

"Bill and Ben, Sir Topham Hatt wants to see you at Wellsworth Station." Bill and Ben were worried.

"What did we do?" asked Bill.

"I don't know. All we did was bump BoCo under the hopper. But that was harmless!" replied his twin as they set off.

"Well, maybe not completely. He did need a washdown." laughed Bill.

"Eh, it was only a washdown."

The Fat Controller was on the platform waiting for them.

"Ah, good to see you two. I have a new job for you. It may give you a chance to see more of the Island." The twins got excited. "The load is waiting for you at Brendam. Salty will explain everything."

"Yay! Maybe we'll get to hear another story!" cried the twins and they set off at once.

"I wonder what the load could be," said Bill to his twin.

"Perhaps it's a crate with something important in it!"

"Or perhaps it's a new shipment for MC. Bunn!" chuckled Bill.

But the twins' hopes were crushed when they saw Cranky unload a red carpet at the Docks.

"A carpet?! What's so important about that?" groaned Ben.

"It doesn't look very important. It just looks like a regular carpet. We can't have any fun with this," added Bill sadly. Salty chuckled.

"It's the carpet for the new opening of a flower show at Maithwate," he explained, "Speaking of which, that reminds me of a story."

"Oh, come on! Not another one!" groaned Cranky, but Salty had already begun.

"There was a magic carpet that could fly around. People often rode on it, and they said some magic words to get it to work."

"Do you mean 'please' and 'thank you'?" wondered Bill.

"Ah, no, me harteys. Better words like 'hocus pocus' or 'abra cadabra.'" Bill and Ben looked to each other.

"Perhaps _this_ carpet is magic!" they shouted as the men tied the carpet down.

Salty chuckled.

"Sorry to burst your boilers, but this carpet is just... well... a carpet."

Bill and Ben didn't listen; they wanted to believe the carpet was indeed magic. Cranky rolled his eyes.

"Oh please. Magic doesn't exist!" and he set to work unloading another ship as the twins puffed away with a flatbed with the carpet.

Bill and Ben chattered excitedly to one another as they puffed along.

"I wonder if it does any tricks!"

"Nah, it probably grants wishes!"

Their crews respectfully ignored them.

Soon, they stopped at a red signal where BoCo was waiting.

"BoCo! Guess what? We have a magic carpet!" BoCo looked over.

"Magic carpet? What are you on about?"

"Salty told us about a magic carpet that could fly!" explained the twins. BoCo chuckled.

"Salty likes to tell stories all the time. Magic carpets don't exist, you two. Carpets can't really fly."

Suddenly, the ropes on the flatbed suddenly snapped; they were old, but the workmen hadn't noticed. The carpet suddenly flew away!

"Bust my buffers! I told you it was magic!" cried Ben. BoCo sighed.

"It's just the wind. But you better go after your delivery."

The signal dropped, and the twins scurried after it.

The twins soon arrived back at Wellsworth, where Murdoch was puffing by with a Main Line train.

"Stop! Stop!" they cried, but the carpet was lifted up by the wind and suddenly dropped onto one of the trucks on Murdoch's goods train.

"Oh no!" cried the twins, but before they could say another word, Murdoch was off.

"Stop Murdoch!" shouted Ben, but Murdoch was too far away to hear. But the guard wasn't.

"What is that?" he wondered and peered out the backside of the brakevan.

"What the... It's Bill and Ben! And they look distressed!" The guard applied the brakes on the brakevan.

Murdoch noticed this.

"What is it?" he asked grumpily.

"Must be the guard," replied the driver, "We better stop at Crosby up ahead."

Murdoch sighed and reluctantly stopped at Crosby. Bill and Ben puffed wearily alongside.

"Murdoch! You've got our carpet!" they cried. Murdoch was puzzled.

"What carpet?"

Before the twins could explain, a gust of wind blew the carpet up and on top of Paxton, who was passing by with a train of stone.

"What's going on? Help!" cried Paxton, "I can't see!"

The driver immediately stopped the train; it was dangerous if an engine can't see.

Bill and Ben were surprised.

"Oh dear, Paxton! This carpet sure likes to cause trouble!" said Ben.

"It's not magic. It's the wind." replied Murdoch modestly.

"Let's get that thing off Paxton!" called the driver.

Bill's driver ran and got the carpet off of Paxton.

"Phew! Thanks! But what was that thing anyway?"

"It was a magic carpet," explained Bill, "and it likes to cause trouble."

"I can see that," Paxton replied gravely and set off for the Docks.

"What a weird carpet..." he thought.

"We better hurry or we'll be late!" cried Ben's driver and they found some chains to tie the carpet down. Once they did, the twins set off for Maithwate.

At Maithwate, the Fat Controller was waiting for them.

"Ah, good to see you're on time." he said cheerfully.

"Yes sir, but-"

"The carpet is magic sir!" interuppted Bill. The Fat Controller stared, then laughed.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! There's no such thing as a magic carpet, Bill and Ben. But you two are Really Useful engines." Bill and Ben were pleased.

Later, the carpet was laid out on the platform and the Photographer came to take a photograph of the grand opening of the Flower Show.

"Everybody say 'carpet'!"

"Carpet!" the photographer shouted, but nobody said "carpet."

He took the picture and gave it to the Maitwaite stationmaster, then left onboard Daisy.

Suddenly, the carpet suddenly flapped on the platform, due to the wind.

Although everybody told them that magic carpets didn't exist, Bill and Ben weren't so sure as they headed off back to the China Clay Works to start work again.


End file.
